Life is an opportunity.  With the blood of His Son, God has purchased this opportunity for us.  Every person has a chance of gaining eternal life and heaven if they decide to use this opportunity.  Yet, so many neglect this great offer of God and pass through this life, unsaved.  Others who decide to accept this offer often neglect to fulfill the conditions required for it.

As I passed through the military cemetery in Arlington, it gave me a strange feeling to see rows and rows of crosses as far as I could see, over the graves of mostly young men, and to think how many of them were unsaved.  Their time is now over.  They had made their choice in life and now it was too late to change their destiny.  It is eternal life or eternal death–that is the choice.

In the time of Noah, every person had an opportunity to save themselves in the ark that Noah had built.  Noah invited people in, but, other than his own family, no one came.  They did not care about the opportunity to save themselves.

Jesus said, “As in the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark.  And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”  Matthew 24:37-39.

An opportunity has been given to us to live a perfect life, without sin, being filled with the Holy Spirit of God, full of joy and happiness.

If our life is not perfect, fulfilling, enjoyable, and Christlike, it is not because we were lacking opportunities.  No, the reason is that we have neglected to use the God-given opportunities and made wrong choices in our life.

Often people blame circumstances, and also other people for their misery and unhappiness, not realizing that it is their own neglect in taking hold of the salvation that was offered to them that is the cause of their misery.

We may not always have the opportunity to get a high education, to start a business, or to travel, or have many other things that people in the world value highly.  But, we always have the opportunity to secure salvation, eternal life, and heaven.  God has made sure that no one is lacking these things.

Satan also gives us opportunities, offering us enjoyment of sin.  He gives us the chance to gratify our flesh and our appetite.  He wants us to please our own eyes and ears with vanity, and satisfy all of our natural inclinations.

We must choose between these two offers, because we cannot serve two masters; some people try, but in the end, they will be on the wrong side.  Elijah’s message was, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him.”  1 Kings 18:21.

Moses said, “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” Deuteronomy 30:15.

Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

This is a terrible choice that everyone must make, between Christ and Satan, between eternal life and eternal death, between happiness and joy in the Lord, and misery and depression.  Daily we must be choose between serving God or Satan.  We have a choice of reading the Bible or reading a science fiction novel, going to prayer meetings or partaking in an another activity for purely entertainment purposes, doing missionary work or wasting our time, eating healthy food or junk food.  Constantly we must choose whom we will serve.

Adam and Eve had a choice to serve God or Satan, but, sadly they made the wrong choice.  Cain and Abel had a choice of bringing the offering that God had asked them to bring, or to obey Satan and bring the wrong kind of offering.

Judas took hold of Satan’s offer to gain 30 pieces of silver for very little work.  Lot’s wife had an opportunity to save herself but she disobeyed God and looked back.

Did any one of these people gain something by their disobedience?  They used human wisdom, hoping to gain something, but ended up losers.  Are we wise if we disobey God by neglecting our duty, by telling Him that, “We will not accept an office in Your church, we are busy in our own life, or in our own work”?

We also must choose what our minds are constantly thinking; we must choose very carefully, every word that we speak.

We have an opportunity to do everything right and, by so doing, secure eternal life.  We also have an opportunity to take the cross that Jesus mentioned; to carry it and follow Him to Calvary.

Often people blame their human weakness for their sins, but this is not accepted in the judgment because the power of God is promised to us, even to move mountains.

It is surprising how few people are afraid of Satan.  He is the worst monster that has ever existed.  He is out to kill the whole world.  Billions of people are deceived by him, and he is around us, the children of God, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  He wants to make sure that we will not use the opportunity of salvation that God is offering to us.  His great deception is “later”, not now; some day we will make a full surrender to God, but suddenly it will be too late.

Time is the great opportunity for us to secure our salvation.  When our time is over, we cannot do anything then.  How often people weep at the graves of their friends and relatives to whom they expressed so little love in their lifetime.

Our time is our most important asset, and yet people invent amusements just to kill the time.  We must not waste even one moment of our time, because our character building depends on the right use of it.

Sister White writes, “Of no talent He has given will He require a more strict account than of our time.”  Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 342.

“There are many poor creatures, now miserable, disappointed and degraded, a curse to all around them, who might have been useful and happy men had they but improved their opportunities.”  Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 654-655.

They were members of the church and probably did not do great sins, but they neglected their duty, did not use their time wisely, and this neglect made them miserable.

An artist made a picture of opportunity.  It was a picture of a person with wings at his feet.  Opportunities are elusive. They are here now and the next moment they are gone, and if not made use of, they will never return.

Many will have great disappointment in the end.  “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Jeremiah. 8:20.

“Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God.”  Early Writings, p. 71.

God has given us the talent of time for only one purpose, and that is to save ourselves.  Time is a good fortune if we make right use of it.

Mordecai told Esther, “For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  Esther 4:14.

There is the story of the Good Samaritan.  When an opportunity was given to the Levite and to the priest to help a wounded man, they did not use this opportunity.  Then along came a Samaritan man who had mercy on this man and saved his life.

“As we have therefore great opportunity let us do good to all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”  Galatians 6:10.

These opportunities are, to us, tests of faith.  They show our love to God and toward our fellow men.  If we make use of them, we will be richly paid for all our sacrifices by gaining eternal life.  May the Lord open our eyes to notice the opportunities to do good. AMEN.

Timo Martin